The 1930's were a very turbulent time period for the entire world. Many events
occurred during this time that lead to World War II. It all began with a few events that set
the stage for the entire thing. Things continued to get worse, until finally, the seemingly
inevitable happened.
There were several events that set the stage for the upcoming crisis. In Europe,
Germany specifically, Adolf Hitler had gained control. Hitler was the head of the Nazi
party, a Fascist political group. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Japan had
invaded Manchuria, a province in China. The United States declared its disapproval in the
Stimpson Doctrine, which stated that it would not recognize any territorial gain made by
force. Lastly, Japan had left the League of Nations, and began building up its navy.
During these events, the United States attempted to stay neutral. One war that may
have helped was the Nye committee.
germany
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Munich, Germa...
Mussolini (left) and Hitler sent their armies to N...The Nye Committee investigated how the U.S. got
involved in World War I. Many thought that by learning our previous mistakes, we would
not repeat them. There was also the Neutrality Acts. The first neutrality act made it
unlawful for the U.S. to ship or sell arms to countries where a state of war existed.
Roosevelt and the U.S. congress had different views about isolationism. Roosevelt was not
an isolationist, and was concerned about what was happening. Congress, on the other
hand, was not as concerned. For example, Roosevelt could have eased European tensions
somewhat by wiping out allied war debts. Congress, however, would not go along with
such a thing.
As time went by, the crisis in Europe continued to deepen. Hitler had started to
become more aggressive. In 1938, Germany invaded Austria, and annexed it two days
later. Later, Germany set...